Chapter 7
Bludgers and Wands
Sirius' assignment ended up being a blessing in disguise. Hermione spent every available moment in the Library looking up Petrifaction, usually dragging Orion and Neville along in the process. With the upcoming Quidditch game, Hayden was once again trapped under Oliver's intense training schedule to ensure a Gryffindor victory over Slytherin. Ron, on the other hand, was still slightly annoyed that Sirius had laughed at him. For some strange reason, Ron still believed that Draco was to blame for the attack on Mrs. Norris.
Despite trying to stay out of sight of Professor Dumbledore, Orion had managed to witness the end of the argument between his father and grandfather in the Entrance Hall. Thankfully, they hadn't noticed him. To say that Sirius was upset was an understatement. Orion had never seen anyone threaten Professor Dumbledore like Sirius had. Well, he had really never seen anyone threaten Professor Dumbledore but that wasn't important. What was important was that Sirius' main threat happened to be Orion, something that Orion wasn't too pleased to hear. Just how many times was his father planning on using that defense?
If changes were made due to Sirius' visit, Orion never saw them. Of course he had been keeping his distance from Professor Dumbledore so it wasn't surprising. Orion seriously believed that Professor Dumbledore wasn't trying to hide the attack on Mrs. Norris from the Ministry. He just preferred to solve it internally. With Cornelius Fudge as the Minister of Magic, it was often better to avoid someone who was more interested in how actions could benefit him than the wizarding community.
In addition to everything outside of classes, there were also the dreaded hours spent with Lockhart. After the 'Pixie Lesson', Lockhart had resorted to reenacting parts of his books with Hayden being chosen as a 'volunteer' for the majority of them. It took quite a bit of effort for Orion to keep his mouth shut as he watched Hayden embarrass himself over and over again but it was up to Hayden to speak up. Lockhart had taken to ignoring everyone who didn't think he was the greatest thing to enter the wizarding world since the founders, including Orion.
All in all, everyone was relieved with the arrival of the weekend. Quidditch seemed to be what everyone needed to put the attack behind them. Hayden was suddenly the hope of Gryffindor again since his Nimbus 2000 was the only broom that could really compete with the Numbus 2001s held by the Slytherin team. As eleven o'clock approached, Orion, Neville, Hermione and Ron wished Hayden good luck before hurrying to find a spot in the stands. The day was muggy with the threat of rain obvious. Not perfect playing weather but good enough if the Snitch could be caught before the rain impaired visibility.
The Slytherin team entered the pitch first and was met with an overwhelming array of jeers and hisses that seemed to overpower the cheers coming from the Slytherins in the stands. The Gryffindor team walked out onto the pitch a moment later, causing the noise to switch almost like magic. Cheers replaced jeers. Red and gold nearly washed out any sign of green and silver. It was clear that Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were anxious to see Slytherin beaten.
The entire crowd waited on baited breath as the team captains, Oliver and Marcus Flint shook hands. It seemed to take forever for Madam Hooch to put the whistle in her mouth but once she did, the roar from the crowd silence any sound the whistle may have made. The fourteen players rose towards the sky, Hayden and Draco flying higher than the rest of them. The Quaffle, Bludgers and Snitch were released. In a blink of an eye, the Snitch had vanished from sight and the game began.
It was difficult to seriously search for the Snitch while keeping one eye on Hayden. Draco had quickly revealed that his 'strategy' was to annoy Hayden as much as possible with his taunting. The distraction had nearly worked when a Bludger nearly hit Hayden in the head. Thankfully Hayden had moved just in time. Everyone around Orion let out a relieved sigh when George Weasley hit the Bludger towards a Slytherin player, Adrian Pucey, but the Bludger changed direction in midair…towards Hayden.
Slytherin scored but none of the Gryffindors noticed. Their attention was focused completely on Hayden dropping to avoid the Bludger. Once again, George was there to hit it away but the Bludger swerved like a boomerang before returning on its path to its original target. Orion could only stare in horror as Hayden took off, trying to outwit the Bludger. No Bludger ever focused on one target unless it had been bewitched to do so. The Slytherin team could be desperate enough to attempt such a thing but Orion doubted they would be able to pull it off without anyone finding out.
"Ori, what's going on?" Neville asked nervously. "That Bludger—"
"—is bewitched, I know," Orion interrupted as he pulled out his wand. He knew he needed to do something soon. The Bludger had once again turned against the direction Fred hit it in order to go after Hayden again. If something wasn't done soon, the Bludger would reach its target. Vaguely, Lee Jordan could be heard announcing that Slytherin was in the lead, sixty points to zero.
The Bludger's attempts were getting worse, forcing Fred and George to focus on Hayden than the rest of the team. As a result, the Slytherin Beaters had no problem hitting the second Bludger at the Gryffindor Chasers. Something needed to be done before someone was seriously hurt. Finally, Wood called for a time out and Orion was off, fighting his way through the crowd, down the stairs and to the edge of the field.
Hayden was the first to notice him and hurried over. "Someone's tampered with the Bludger," he said breathlessly. "I can't shake it."
"I know," Orion said quickly. "Listen, we don't have much of a choice here. If you continue to play, you'll undoubtedly end up in the hospital wing. Tell Oliver to call for a substitution. Give me your robes and I'll play for you."
Hayden paled. "But the Bludger—"
"—is only after you," Orion insisted. At least he hoped that was the case. There was the slightest chance that it was after the Gryffindor Seeker but he wasn't about to tell Hayden that.
"Orion!" Oliver shouted as he approached. "You shouldn't be on the field!"
Hayden turned around, partially stepping in front of Orion. "Orion wants us to call a substitution," he said nervously.
Oliver stopped in his tracks as his gaze shifted from Hayden to Orion. Finally, he nodded. "I'll see if Madam Hooch will allow it."
Hayden and Orion watched Oliver hurry off as the rest of the team approached. Orion didn't miss the hopeful look in their eyes as they noticed who was standing behind Hayden. Before they could ask questions, however, Madam Hooch joined them with Oliver on her heels.
"Wood tells me you wish to take Potter's place in the game, Black," Madam Hooch said briskly. "You're not on the roster—"
"—alternates aren't required to be," Orion interrupted quickly. "All they need is to have practiced with the team and I have." He didn't mention that his 'practice' was a few years ago but the rules didn't state a time frame. The Seeker position didn't depend on knowledge of the plays. If someone could fly a broom and catch the Snitch then they would be able to step in.
Madam Hooch stared at Orion skeptically before turning her gaze to Hayden. "You realize, Potter, that if you forfeit your position you won't be able to come back in the game, correct?"
Hayden bit his lower lip as he glanced over his shoulder at Orion. After a discrete nudge, Hayden nodded.
"Very well," Madam Hooch said and blew the whistle to resume place.
As quickly as possible, Hayden handed over his slightly wet scarlet robes and his Nimbus 2000. The robes were a little tight and a little short but it could have been worse. After a stern glance, Hayden agreed to remain in the changing room until the game was over just in case the Bludger still sought him out. Orion could have been wrong but he wasn't about to take any chances. Meeting the gazes of the rest of the team, Orion nodded and they took off to continue the game.
Cheers washed over them as they soared high in the air. As predicted, the bewitched Bludger seemed to keep searching around for Hayden leaving only one Bludger for the Beaters to worry about. The rain was falling more heavily on them, making it difficult to pick out the small flash of gold. Out of the corner of his eye, Orion noticed Draco flying just below him with a scowl on his face. It wasn't surprising. Draco had gone out of his way to avoid Orion ever since Orion had spelled his mouth clean.
A whistling broke the air forcing Orion to dive as a Bludger flew past where his head had just been. Pulling up, Orion rotated his body and shot upwards towards Draco. It was then that he saw it—the Golden Snitch, hovering inches above Draco's left ear. He had to time this perfectly. One wrong move would alert Draco and cost Gryffindor the game. At that moment, Draco looked down and saw Orion coming at him. Draco's eyes widened in panic as he sped out of the way giving Orion a perfect opportunity. Leaning forward, Orion sped up as he reached out and wrapped his fingers around the small golden ball.
A loud whistling sound nearly drowned out Madam Hooch's own whistle, signaling the end of the game. Turning around, Orion stared in horror as the bewitched Bludger took off towards the changing room where Hayden was coming out. Lowering himself so he was practically laying flat on his broom, Orion shot off with his wand already in his hand. The Bludger had a decent lead but Orion was faster. The question was if he was fast enough.
Spells few past him, aimed for the Bludger but none hit the desired target. Hayden was running for the changing room. Orion lowered himself even further on the broom as he pointed his wand at the Bludger. He needed to act fast. The Bludger was only a body length ahead of him and only seconds away from striking Hayden.
"Finite Incantatem!" Orion bellowed.
The spell hit the Bludger but the Bludger stayed on course. Hayden was only inches away from the changing room but it would be inches too far. In an act of desperation, Orion lept off the broom, tackling Hayden in the process only to hear a loud crack and a howl of pain as they crashed into the ground, mud splattering everywhere.
Haziness washed over him as he tried to force himself to move. His vision was slightly blurry and there was a pounding in his head. Vaguely, Orion felt himself being rolled over, off of Hayden and onto his back. He blinked up at the somewhat blurry faces blocking the rain from hitting his face trying to figure out who they were. Slowly, everything cleared allowing Orion to sit up with Neville's help and look around to see Lockhart smiling widely at Hayden.
"Oh, no, not you," Hayden moaned as he carefully sat up and held his arm to his chest.
"Doesn't know what he's saying," Lockhart said loudly. "Not to worry, Hayden. I'm about to fix your arm."
"No!" Hayden shouted as he quickly slid away from Lockhart. "I'll go see Madam Pomfrey."
A familiar clicking noise grabbed Orion's attention to see Colin Creevey standing in front of the crowd with his camera covering the majority of his face.
"No photos, Colin," Hayden said annoyance.
"Just stay still, Hayden," Lockhart said cheerfully as he twirled his wand then pointed it at Hayden's injured arm.
"NO!"
Unfortunately, Hayden and Orion were too late. Hayden's arm lost form as is seemed to deflate before their eyes leaving what looked like a thick, flesh-colored rubber glove. Gasps filled the air as everyone realized what Lockhart had actually done. He hadn't mended Hayden's bones. He had actually removed them.
"Ah," Lockhart said uncomfortably. "Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind. So, Hayden, just toddle up to the hospital wing—ah, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger and Mr. Black, would you escort him?—and Madam Pomfrey will be able to—er—tidy you up a bit."
With extreme effort, Orion bit back a few choice words that would undoubtedly grant him a number of detentions. He couldn't believe that anyone could believe an idiot like Lockhart could even attempt to accomplish anything written in his books. The man couldn't even cast a spell correctly!
Madam Pomfrey was even more furious than Orion, especially when she heard that Hayden had declined Lockhart's help in the first place. "I swear, that man!" she ranted as she threw Hayden a pair of pajamas. "You'll have to stay the night, Potter. Growing bones back is painful."
Hermione and Neville waited outside the curtain pulled around Hayden's bed while Orion and Ron helped Hayden into his pajamas. It was difficult not to feel nauseous at the sight of the rubbery, boneless arm. As Orion pulled Hayden's limp fingers through the cuff, he looked up and met Hayden's gaze. Emerald met hazel for only a moment before the hazel eyes widened.
"I never noticed it before," Hayden said softly. "Your eyes—they're like my mum's."
Orion stared at Hayden with a raised eyebrow. That had certainly been the last thing he had expected to hear. "Green is a popular eye color, Hayden," Orion said with a shrug as he helped Hayden into bed.
"I don't know how you can stick up for Lockhart now, Hermione," Ron said as Hermione and Madam Pomfrey came around the screen. There was a large bottle of Skele-Gro in Madam Pomfrey's hand. "If Hayden had wanted a deboning he would have asked."
Hermione glared at Ron. "Anyone can make a mistake," she said indignantly. "And it doesn't hurt—"
"—Hermione, don't finish that," Orion warned. "The man is a complete idiot. If the Potters wanted, they could sue Lockhart in front of the Wizengamot for attacking Hayden."
Hermione gasped. "They wouldn't!" she exclaimed, scandalized. She received four glares as an answer. Clearly defending Lockhart wasn't the smartest thing to do at the moment.
With great reluctance, Hayden took his required dose of Skele-Gro, nearly gagging at the foul taste in the process. As Madam Pomfrey retreated to her office, the Gryffindor Quidditch team arrived, still filthy and soaking wet. Angelina had thankfully retrieved Hayden's broom before any damage had been done to it. They quickly revealed that the Slytherin team wasn't too happy with Draco at the moment for not noticing the Snitch flying right by his ear. They also expressed their appreciation to Orion…repeatedly.
Orion had been relieved when they left. There hadn't been much time to discuss the Bludger before Madam Pomfrey came back to kick them out but Orion had managed to convey his belief everything that was happening was somehow connected. It wasn't a coincidence that Hayden seemed to be in the center of everything. If only they could get their hands on that house elf…
The following morning had brought about shock after shock. News had quickly spread that the 'Heir of Slytherin' had attacked again and this time had petrified Colin Creevey. Suddenly the threat seemed so much more real. Students were actually in danger. To make matters worse, as soon as Hayden found the four Gryffindor second years, he revealed that Dobby the house elf had paid him a visit last night. It had been Dobby who had sealed the barrier and caused the Bludger to go after Hayden.
However, Dobby's visit had actually been a blessing in disguise. Dobby had accidentally revealed that the Chamber had been opened once before. That revelation sent Orion and Hermione off to the library in hope to find more information. If the Chamber had been opened before then that meant it had been closed before. For some reason, Orion had a feeling that the rumor of Voldemort being the heir of Slytherin was somehow linked to the previous opening of the Chamber but there was no record of Voldemort until he started wreaking havoc on the wizarding world.
That certainly complicated everything.
Informing Sirius of the latest developments had been hard but necessary. As expected, Sirius had arrived at Hogwarts early Monday morning for another talk with Professor Dumbledore. Orion could only hope that some sort of solution could be reached. The first years had resorted to moving around the castle in groups in hope that they wouldn't be next. Ginny Weasley was completely distraught. All of the Weasley brothers were doing what they could to cheer her up but nothing seemed to help. Orion even suggested for Hermione to talk to her but Ginny refused to say anything.
Orion had learned about the 'changes' agreed upon by Professor Dumbledore and his father by accident. He had emerged from Gryffindor Tower early one morning for another round of research in the library to see a group of exhausted Aurors leaving Hogwarts. So the search for the Chamber of Secrets had begun. Orion didn't know how he felt about that. Having Aurors actually looking around Hogwarts was the icing on the cake. They were all in danger and no one knew how to stop it.
With the arrival of December, fear and suspicions were still running high. Orion had given up the search for Voldemort's alter ego until he had the chance to sit down and talk to his father and uncle face to face. Wanting to know more about Voldemort wasn't something that could be written in a letter or discussed through a mirror.
The mood at Hogwarts shifted drastically at the announcement posted on the notice board in the Entrance Hall of a Dueling Club starting. Orion, Neville and Hayden could barely hold in their excitement. This was the chance to improve on the basics Sirius had taught them over the summer. The only question was who would be teaching them. Many hoped that it would be Professor Flitwick since he was a well known dueling champion.
Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. When they entered the Great Hall at eight o'clock that evening, it was difficult to not notice the deep plum robes worn by Gilderoy Lockhart. Letting out a resigned sigh, Orion led the way to the golden stage that had replaced the long dining tables. So much for an actual learning experience.
The chatter quickly extinguished as Lockhart walked onto the stage with Professor Snape accompanying him. "Gather round, gather round!" Lockhart called out. "Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!"
Hayden let out a snort while Neville ran a weary hand down his face. It was clear that the three of them shared the same thought. This was going to be a complete waste of time.
"Now," Lockhart continued cheerfully, "Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions—for full details, see my published works. Let me introduce you to my assistant, Professor Snape. He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry—you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, ever fear!"
"Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?" Ron muttered from behind Orion and Hayden.
"I would settle on Professor Snape humiliating Lockhart," Orion whispered back, noticing the scathing look on Snape's face. "At least Professor Snape knows what he's doing."
Silence filled the room as Lockhart and Professor Snape turned to face each other and bowed although Professor Snape's was barely noticeable. A tense eagerness swelled as wands rose in unison almost like swords in front of them. Orion took the opportunity to examine their stances. Lockhart's was almost comical. It looked as if he were posing for a portrait. Professor Snape's stance, on the other hand, was relaxed but ready as if he knew he would have to move at a moment's notice.
"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart instructed the crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill of course."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Neville whispered to Orion as he jerked his head to Professor Snape who was baring his teeth angrily.
"One…two…three…"
In a blink of an eye, it was over. Both of them had swung their wands above their heads and pointed them to their opponent. Professor Snape had cried, "Expelliarmus!" causing a flash of scarlet light just before Lockhart was thrown backwards off the stage, into the wall and slid down until he hit the floor. The Slytherins cheered and Orion couldn't keep the grin from appearing on his face. Couldn't happen to a bigger prat.
"Do you think he's all right?" Hermione squealed worriedly as she danced on her tiptoes.
Orion, Neville and Hayden shared a look. "Who cares?" they said together as Lockhart unsteadily rose to his feet looking a little disheveled.
"Well, there you have it!" Lockhart said loudly as he stumbled back on the platform. "That was a Disarming Charm—as you see, I've lost my wand—ah, thank you Miss Brown—yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy—however, I felt it would be instructive to let the see…"
Orion cringed as Professor Snape looked livid. Oh, Lockhart would be paying for that.
"Enough demonstrating!" Lockhart said abruptly. "I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me…"
As they moved through the crowd, Orion, Neville, Hayden, and Ron tried to remain together but it seemed that Lockhart and Professor Snape had other plans. Neville was paired with Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hermione was paired with Millicent Bulstrode, Ron was paired with Seamus, Orion was paired with Dean, and Hayden was paired with Draco. They had reluctantly separated but not before Orion had managed to warn Hayden to be on guard. Draco would use anything he could to his advantage.
"Face your partners!" Lockhart called out from the platform. "And bow!"
Orion bowed and Dean copied him.
"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart shouted. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents—only to disarm them—we don't want any accidents—one…two…three…"
Orion disarmed Dean with ease, catching Dean's wand as it sailed through the air. It was hard to refrain from laughing at Dean's dumbfounded look as Orion tossed the wand back in order to let Dean try which wasn't too successful. Orion tried to walk Dean through the proper way to disarm but it was difficult with all of the shouting.
"I said disarm only!" Lockhart shouted.
Orion looked around and saw that only a few pairs were actually working on the Disarming Charm. Draco and Hayden had hexed each other, Ron's hair had turned pink and Hermione was in what looked like a wrestling match with Millicent. Neville was currently holding Justin's wand in his hand with a proud look on his face.
"Stop! Stop!" Lockhart screamed but no only listened.
Finally, Professor Snape took charge. "Finite Incantatem!" he shouted and everything slowly returned to normal.
"Dear, dear," Lockhart said as maneuvered through the crowd. "Up you go, Macmillan…Careful there Miss Fawcett…Pinch it hard, it'll stop bleeding in a second. I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells." Lockhart's gaze shifted to Professor Snape for only a moment before looking away. "Let's have a volunteer pair—Weasley and Finnegan, how about you—"
"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart," Professor Snape interrupted. "Weasley's wand is a trip to the hospital wing waiting to happen. How about Black and Thomas or perhaps Malfoy and Potter?"
"An excellent idea! Potter, Malfoy!" Lockhart said then turned to Hayden and Draco and motioned for them to move to the middle of the hall.
Orion quickly stepped forward and blocked Hayden's path. "Remember to protect yourself, Hayden," he whispered. "Draco will always try for the easy victory. Have the Shield Charm on the tip of your tongue to be used at a moment's notice."
Hayden nodded and followed Draco to where the crowd had backed away to give them room. Neville, Hermione, Ron, and Justin joined Orion near the front as Lockhart moved to Hayden's side to pass on some 'words of wisdom'. Orion nearly groaned as Lockhart dropped his wand and knew that Professor Snape's advice to Draco would undeniably be more beneficial. He could only hope that Hayden would follow the right advice.
Finally, Lockhart and Professor Snape moved away. "Three—two—one—go!" Lockhart shouted.
Draco raised his wand quickly and bellowed, "Serpensortia!" There was an explosion at the end of his wand as a long black snake shot out of it. There were screams as the snake landed heavily onto the floor between them and raised itself, ready to strike. Hayden looked extremely nervous but his wand never wavered as he quickly cast a Shield Charm. At least he was protected from the snake.
As the crowd moved back hastily, Professor Snape stepped forward. "Don't move, Potter," he said lazily. "I'll get rid of it—"
"Allow me!" Lockhart shouted as he waved his wand at the snake. There was a loud bang causing many to jump as the snake flew ten feet into the air and fell back down, landing with a loud smack. That had certainly been the thickest thing anyone could have done. The snake was now outraged and started slithering straight for Justin. No one moved as it raised itself, fangs exposed, poised to strike.
No one but Orion.
Orion had no idea why he did it but before he knew what he was doing, he had jumped in front of Justin, pushing him to the floor as his right shoulder screamed in pain…pain that was quickly spreading. Everything seemed to become distorted as Orion felt himself land on the floor. Time seemed to slow as the pain overpowered him, making even the simplest functions difficult. Orion felt the pain increase as he was slowly rolled over onto his back.
Pain filled green met concerned black. Those eyes were the last thing Orion saw before darkness claimed him.